City of Blue Island Think Outside the Loop
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Michael Marzal
Director of Finance & Administration
Mayor’s Office
City of Blue Island
13051 Greenwood Ave.
Blue Island, IL 60406
mmarzal@cityofblueisland.org
708-396-7011
THE ONLY OFFER QUORUM HAD MADE TO THE CITY WAS TO GIVE THE CITY THE HOSPITAL TO RUN
Blue Island, Illinois, October 3, 2019: In June, MetroSouth shocked everyone in Blue Island with their announcement that they had filed an application to close the hospital with the state’s Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Over the past several months, the Mayor, City Council, and other elected officials vigorously fought the closure. The Mayor sent a strong letter of opposition to the Board, pointing out the gaps in services the closure would mean for Blue Island residents and our first responders. The City’s first priority was to ensure that quality health care options would be available to Blue Island residents.
With authorization from the Council, the City engaged expert attorneys from the health care practice at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff to advise the City on the state board process. The Mayor and City Council had several priorities:
1. The Council did not want the City to run or manage a hospital;
2. Council wanted to create a path to find a quality health care provider who was interested in being in Blue Island for the long-term, be it as a full-fledged hospital, or a facility that would combine urgent care/ER services with specialty services;
3. Council wanted reimbursement for the monies given to MetroSouth under the redevelopment agreement and the tax revenues forgone as a result of the 8b classification;
4. Council wanted to have the option to own non-hospital parcels of land;
5. Protection of wages/severance for hospital employees, many of whom are City residents;
6. Retain the approximately $500,000 owed to MetroSouth but not yet paid for 2018 under the redevelopment agreement.
As we learned more about the discontinuation process at the Board from our attorneys, it became clear that the Board would eventually grant MetroSouth’s application to close. It was a difficult reality to accept. Everyone at the City would prefer that MetroSouth remain open and provide quality health care to our citizens.
As the date for the hearing drew near, the City began discussing the City’s priorities with Quorum. The agreement the City’s attorneys negotiated addressed all of the Mayor’s and Council’s priorities.
Since its announcement in June, the only offer Quorum had made to the City was to give the City the hospital to run plus $25,000 for a consultant to help with real estate redevelopment. The agreement, which was discussed with several aldermen prior to the hearing, was made subject to Council approval. The agreement contained many benefits to the City, namely:
• Quorum agreed to pay $2 million within 30 days. In addition, the City would retain an additional $500,000 of TIF funds, which the City could use to offset some costs associated with the closure of the hospital, such as beginning the upgrade of the emergency response from BLS to ALS;
• Control the vetting process to bring a quality health care provider to the City instead of whomever Quorum settled for;
• Ability to obtain key commercial parcels of land at no cost to the City with no negotiation or litigation expenses;
• In the event the City exercised its right to take all of the hospital land at the end of a six month period, Quorum would give the City $3 million for maintenance and security costs or if needed, demolition costs;
• Property tax payments that will flow to the City through at least 2021
The City sought to make the best of a terrible situation – a situation that was not in its control. As the Board process for closure moves forward, the City remains committed to bringing a health care provider to take over the MetroSouth property to provide quality health care to its residents and to protecting the financial investment the City of Blue Island residents have made in the property.
Quorum has also expressed its willingness to continue to honor the essence of the agreement with the City. So while the agreement was initially contingent upon a decision by the Health Facilities and Services Review Board to approve its application, this does not mean the agreement is off the table.
The City Council is aware of this and still has the ability to move forward with an agreement if it decides to do so.
Finally, it should be emphasized this was not a “backroom deal.” It was negotiated in good faith by the City’s legal team based upon their understanding of the Mayor’s and City Council’s expressed priorities to develop a plan to address this very difficult situation created by the closing of the hospital.
About Blue Island
The City of Blue Island was settled in 1835, making it one of the oldest communities in Chicagoland. Today, the City of Blue Island is known for its historic neighborhood charm, blended business and recreational downtown district, comprehensive community and business development initiatives, and active, diverse, and creative residents. For more information on upcoming events and all the latest news, www.blueisland.org.
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